Bulgaria to Prepare Special Emission of Coins to be Used as Gifts During the EU Presidency

August 2, 2017, Wednesday // 16:34

In collaboration with the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), we are preparing the special emission of two types of coins to be used as gifts during the presidency, the Minister of Bulgaria’s EU Council Presidency 2018, Lilyana Pavlova, told a press conference.

The emission will include a silver coin with gold for the highest-ranking guests and a special BGN 2 coin that will also be presented in a special way to the guests, Dnevnik reported.

''Each Presidency also has the commitment to leave something to remember to its guests. We have decided that our gift should have a long-term value and be remembered in the years of something worthwhile'', said Pavlova.

She added that the repair of the National Palace of Culture will be completed before the start of the Bulgarian presidency.

In addition, a postage stamp will be issued for the presidency, while other gifts will include notebooks, folders, pens, specially branded ties for men and scarves for ladies.

Pavlova assured the public that the repair of the National Palace of Culture will be completed before the presidency.

While the EU Presidency is not as relevant as it used to be - now that we have a Foreign Affairs Council chaired by the High Representative, and an 18-month "presidency trio" - , it is still worth being commemorated on coins. And in Bulgaria some early birds actually waited in line in order to get such a coin. Quote: "The Bank opened the cashiers' desks at 8.30 am. Some people had joined the queue as early as 5.00 am."

Five?? Not me. Note the domain name by the way. The coins say "eu2018bg" (no dashes or dots), so the presidency domain is "eu2018bg.bg" ...